6th April 2017, Constable, 304 pages, Paperback, Review copy,
Content: some murder scenes, lots of suspense, some humour,
Summary from Little, Brown
Pearl receives a surprise present from her mother, Dolly - an early
summer break at a riverside manor house that has been recently
transformed into an exclusive hotel - the newly named Villa Pellegrini.
Pellegrini
- the Italian word for pilgrims - reflects the fact that the building
lies on the old Pilgrims Way into Canterbury, and Pearl is looking
forward to the break, not least because DCI Mike McGuire has been
neglecting her due to his work. But when she discovers that she's
actually booked in for a cookery course from the Italian celebrity chef,
Nico Caruso, she begins to think again . . .
Pearl doesn't
welcome instruction on cookery at the best of times, and certainly not
from an arrogant chef like Caruso. She goes along, intent on challenging
Caruso's egotism - and a long tradition of men dominating gastronomy -
but soon finds herself distracted, not only by her enchanting
surroundings but by the disparate selection of guests.
She even
begins to enjoy Caruso's attentions - and his cookery - until one of
the guests goes missing and it becomes clear that murder is on the menu.
Nayu's thoughts
This is my favourite book of the whole series!! Dolly, Pearl's mother, features a lot
which satisfies me as I love the dynamic between the duo. They always
make me smile even when the situation gets serious. I kept wondering
who was going to die and who the killer was-the end was a surprise as
I had no clue whatsover. Well, not entirely true as with the location
it was a bit like a Cluedo game (a board game where players have to
figure out who killed the victim, where, and with what - e.g. Miss
Scarlett in the kitchen with a candlestick. Ah, I have fond memories
of playing it when I was little! I think that's partly why I loved
this story so much, that and I love Pearl's adventures.)
In places
there was a bit too much food info for my tastes, so my eyes glazed over a little, but that's evened
out with the constantly changing theories of Pearl and her
companions. I still don't know how she forgave a certain character's
arrogance on the first night of her break for what they did to a
lovely lady, but I'm not Pearl. I'm thrilled she was fascinated by
bee keeping as that's a dreamlike job (totally impractical for me but
love everything about it). I had no idea about why they get smoked or
what produces the smoke when checking hives (bee homes, not allergic reaction skin condition). There's a multitude of suspense and drama, a combination which I love to see in a book like this. The reader gets teased with the frosty distance between
Pearl and McGuire, but I promise there's some hope for them.
Definitely one to reread-it's also available as an audiobook!
Follow Julie on Twitter to keep up to date with her latest news.
Suggested reads
You must read the others in the series: #1 The Whitstable Pearl Mystery by Julie Wassmer (Cosy, Fiction, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)
Book #2 Review + Q&A: Murder On Sea by Julie Wassmer (Cosy Mystery, Shop fiction, Food fiction, Crime, 8/10E)
Book #3 May Day Murder by Julie Wassmer (Cozy Mystery, 10E/10E)
3 comments:
Thank you SO much for your wonderful review! I am thrilled that Murder on the Pilgrims Way is your favourite book of the series to date and I can't thank you enough for reading it as an author is nothing without readers. The TV rights have now been sold to the books so, with fingers and toes all crossed, here's hoping that Pearl & Co (and Whitstable) will make it to our television screens. Thank you, Nayu. J x
You're most welcome Julie!!! Ooo, keep me posted re TV series as I'd love to watch it when it comes out!
I shall do that! The TV rights have been bought by the production company, Buccaneer, who made Marcella with Anna Friel. It's very exciting as they love the books and totally understand how Whitstable is like another character in them. I'll let you know more in due course. Thanks again for taking time to read the books and review them so wonderfully! It's all very thrilling for me as I used to write TV drama - series like Eastenders etc - but I really enjoy writing these books now. J x
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